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January 1943--Recruiting Station, San Antonio, Texas
All the Seniors on the Weslaco Panthers Football team (Conference Champions)
enlist in the Marine Corps together. Their studies were accelerated so
they could graduate midyear.
The boys are:
1. Sam Magee
2. Leo LaDuke
3. Ben Guess
4. Carl Cole
5. Leo Ryan
6. Pete Hall
7. Billy Burger
8. Bobby Walker
9. Carl Sims
10. Harlon Block
11. Glen Cleckler
12. Robert Sooter
13. Billy Jack Robertson
Captain D.M. Taft is swearing them in.
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Is there any way you can provide the article or its content? I'm interested in reading it. Thank You
This I Find Interesting because i was told that harlon is my great grandpa so if you have any more informastion please contact me i would like to know more about him and his family ...
RC Whitmill was my grandfather. He also joined the Air Force and flew on a B-24 Liberator in Italy/German. He died when I was young.
Harlon Block was my grandmother's first cousin. I have a copy of an article that one of his nephews wrote in December 1949 about Harlon. It includes a quotes from a letter that Harlon's father received from one of the men who survived that day.
My grandmother is Lucille Brantley Whitmill. Harlon factored into her stories about "the war".
Some facts provided to make minor accuracy adjustments for this thread:
RC Whitmill was junior coach in Weslaco, and a family friend.
Buck Henson was the Assistant Senior Coach, and a college classmate of Osborne Little.
Osborne Little was the Senior Coach.
The photo published above has young guys from Harlingen and Donna being sworn in at the same time. The "Weslaco Eight" were: Leo Ryan, Carl Sims, B.R. Guess, Pete Holt, L.H. LaDuke, "Doc" Cleckler, Robert Sooter and Harlon Block.
The references for these comments are the 1940, '42 and '44 La Palmas the high school yearbook from Weslaco High School, Weslaco TX.
My dad, Carl Sims, also survived Iwo. He spoke of it often. He also spoke of Glen Cleckler, B.R.Guess, Leo Ryan, Bill Burger, Robert Sooter and of cource, Harlon Block. All these, he counted as "brothers" as they grew up together. I have a picture of my grandmother and many of the other mothers. Leo LaDuke ended up here in the town where I live and died about 7 years ago. The widow of these boy's football coach also lived here. He was R.C. Whitmill. My dad got to visit with Mrs. Lucille Whitmill before his death in 1986.
My dad, Carl Sims, also survived Iwo. He spoke of it often. He also spoke of Glen Cleckler, B.R.Guess, Leo Ryan, Bill Burger, Robert Sooter and of cource, Harlon Block. All these, he counted as "brothers" as they grew up together. I have a picture of my grandmother and many of the other mothers. Leo LaDuke ended up here in the town where I live and died about 7 years ago. The widow of these boy's football coach also lived here. He was R.C. Whitmill. My dad got to visit with Mrs. Lucille Whitmill before his death in 1986.
Leo Ryan also survived the war. I know this because he is my uncle and is alive and well. Also on another note my dad Kenneth Ryan, was a good friend of Harlon block and also was from Weslaco and survived not only the battle of Iwo, but also the war. He was a year behind Leo and Harlon in high school. Thanks, Respectfully SSG Ronald Ryan, US Army
My father, Glen Cleckler, Ben Guess, Sam Magee, and maybe Carl Sims are the only ones I know for sure survived.
how many servived the war?